Citroen XM Forum

I wish this car did have solid roof with a stick on a look-alikey sunroof, the bloody thing is still leaking...!!
The inside of the windows have been dripping so Thursday I stripped out the headlining to see where the water is coming in. The upper side of the headlining is very wet, as is the sunroof cassette, light unit and roof skin.

Once it's dried out, I'm going to have one last ditch at fixing the leak, then if that's unsuccessful, time for the roof to go under the knife.

What a pain in the ass Will, I presume you've checked the usual suspects like aerial base? One of mine was leaking from there but I suspected the sunroof cassette overflowing, and also the sealant around the glass, which you previously fixed.

A really odd one I found once, it was coming in through one of motor mounting screws, no idea how the water was getting to that position, but it was. I RTV'd all the screw wells and it stopped.

The sliding sun blind and the headlining get wet, so I'm sure the cassette is leaking water onto them, which then wicks along until they are saturated.

The car is drying out nicely without the headlining fitted, so hopefully I will see where the leak is, once it rains.

I share your pain. Even after changing my sunroof to get rid of that rotten frame, water is still getting in somehow. Not much, but the sun visors keep getting damp. I shall watch with interest.

Damp headlining above the sun visors is what happens with mine. A roof swap is looking increasingly likely.

Ciaran wrote: A really odd one I found once, it was coming in through one of motor mounting screws, no idea how the water was getting to that position, but it was. I RTV'd all the screw wells and it stopped.

The very first fault I had with my first XM. Milton Keynes roundabouts on the way home from collecting it and got drenched!
It was the furthest motor mount leaking. I stuffed sealant up the screw hole and no more leak.
Then everything decided to bloody leak!

Don't blame you Will for wanting to rip it out... Bloody things!

Webasto . . . wee bastard . . . have a lot to answer for.
Their sunroof on our RAV4 doesn't leak, but chatters up and down at the front edge. You'd have thought that after all these years they would have got the bloody thing right!
Taken me years to learn: the next time, if there is one, it'll be without an opening sunroof.

I have opted for no sunroof on all new cars since 1988, but unfortunately there was no option to delete it on the XM's.

The sunroof has stopped leaking and works well, so for now it's staying, even though it rattles a bit, which the old one didn't. I'll look at it sometime.

Another trait this car has had ever since I owned it has been a slow starter motor. Originally I put this down to the battery, then the battery clamps and earth lead connection, but recently it's been very slow again, to the point I thought it wasn't going to start the other day.

As a test I connected a lead straight to the solenoid trigger connection and touched it to the battery +ve. For 4 or 5 seconds it was very slow, but then sped up significantly. A few tries at this revealed similar results, or after a while it just being generally quicker.
This led me to believe the problem is the starter motor solenoid not throwing over fully so not delivering full current to the motor and yesterday I decided it was so bad I needed to have a look at the motor, or be left stranded.

Removing the starter motor is easy, but made awkward because the FDV is in the way.

Firstly, disconnect the battery -ve connection. This is important as the main +ve lead will be disconnected later and dangling about near the engine block, ready to short out, which could cause the battery to explode due to the current being drawn.



Next remove the intercooler to manifold duct and the turbo to intercooler duct for access.

Undo the clamps holding the 6mm pipes onto the FDV and remove the support bracket, then prise the FDV away from the engine a little to create space for the motor to pass by.



Undo the three starter motor bolts from the bell housing, then undo the +ve and trigger connections from the solenoid and with a bit of pursuasion the motor can be dropped down below the car.
Check the ring gear. This one is in fine fettle, but very dry, so put some grease into the teeth. I used molybdonem grease, but I suspect any will do.



The solenoid is a sealed unit, but after cleaning the motor body I stripped it off the motor to check the mechanism. The copper core inside the barrel looked like it may have been binding, so I cleaned it all up and sprayed it with WD40, including the contact push button inside.





I cleaned then lubed the drive gear shaft then lubed it and the end bearing, followed by more grease on the pinion, then rebuilt the unit and refitted it.

Tip: Fit the cables back to the solenoid before getting the motor back fully into position, it makes access easier.

Has it worked. YES! Today the starter motor was very quick indeed, probably the quickest I have heard on any XM of late. It's so quick, I'm now going to do the Mandarin car as well, as this one now makes that one appear slow.

For info. the starter is a Valeo D9R and replacement solenoids are avaialble for about £10, but servicing the motor probably means one won't be required and the motor, and probably the battery, will go for a long time after.

I fitted my spare D9R starter 5 or so years back when the original started to become slow, its sat in the shed now so i may do this as the one on the car has started to become slow now too. I like a rewarding fix.

D